84-Year-Old Pensioner Loses Rs 1.43 Lakh to Cyber Scammers in Hubballi

Hubballi: An 84-year-old pensioner in Old Hubballi recently fell victim to cybercriminals, losing Rs 1.43 lakh from his bank account.

The pensioner, known as Nagesh and residing on Timmasagar Road, recently received a message from an unknown number. This message claimed that his KYC (Know Your Customer) had not been updated and that his bank account had been blocked. The message instructed him to call a specific number and provided links.

Shortly after, the scammer called Nagesh, pretending to be a person named Ashok, who claimed to be the manager of the bank branch where Nagesh had his account. The scammer went a step further by saying he had seen Nagesh when he visited the bank branch for a pension-related matter. He convinced Nagesh that he needed an OTP (One-Time Password) sent to Nagesh’s mobile phone for verification. Nagesh trusted the scammer and shared the OTP.

It was only later that Nagesh realized something was amiss when he noticed the unauthorized deduction from his bank account. He visited his bank branch to inquire about deduction and simultaneously inquired about Ashok. To his surprise, the bank staff informed him that there was no one by that name working at the branch. That’s when the elderly man understood that he had been deceived.

He immediately reported the incident to the Old Hubballi police, who registered a case to investigate the fraud.